Russia lists opposition leader Navalny's group as 'foreign agent'

Russian officials declared a non-profit organisation founded by opposition leader Alexei Navalny, a staunch critic of President Vladimir Putin, a "foreign agent", the justice ministry said on its website, according to Al Jazeera.

Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK), which often publishes investigations into state officials, will now be subject to increased oversight and will have to present itself as a "foreign agent" on official documents.

Russia started a controversial list of foreign agent organisations, which in Russian implies spying for a foreign government, in 2012. This has led to many of the groups, including highly respected human rights organisations, closing down.

The group's director Ivan Zhdanov said the organisation and its employees "never received foreign funding", adding that all its activities were transparent.

"The fund is sponsored exclusively by Russian citizens," he said in a statement on Facebook.

Zhdanov said the move on Wednesday was "another attempt to suffocate" the foundation, "forcing us to stop issuing our investigations".

He said the group's lawyers would consider and appeal once an official notice was issued by the justice ministry.